Over the last decade, the dynamics that define the regional security environment in Southeast Asia have changed dramatically. The hope of a more stable and peaceful Asia after the end of the Cold War, premised on the expectations that the geopolitical and security tensions brought on by the Cold War overlay would finally come to pass, were short-lived. Instead, the region is confronted with both traditional and new security challenges emerging from a host of transnational threats. Of late, there is growing recognition that new security challenges are proving to be more severe and more likely to inflict more harm to a greater number of people than conventional threats of interstate wars and conflicts.

These newly emerging threats, referred to as nontraditional security (NTS) threats, are defined as challenges to the survival and well-being of peoples and states that arise primarily out of nonmilitary sources, such as climate change, cross-border environmental degradation and resource depletion, infectious diseases, natural disasters, irregular migration, food shortages, people smuggling, drug trafficking, and other forms of transnational crime.

NTS issues have direct implications on the overall security of states and societies in the region. The gravity of the problem can be seen in the way these transnational threats are now increasingly discussed not only in academic circles but also among policymakers in East Asia. These issues are also portrayed by officials as posing threats to the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, as well as to the well-being of their respective societies. As a consequence, policymakers in the region have had to re-think their security agendas and find new and innovative ways to address these new security challenges. These, in turn, have had profound implications for regional security cooperation among states in the region.

Against this new security environment, it is therefore timely to examine how Asia—particularly the East Asian region—is addressing the emerging security challenges through its various regional institutions, mechanisms and relevant security arrangements. More importantly, it is important to analyze how these NTS threats are (re) shaping the institutional architecture in East Asia.

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